AFAQ-ETA

Bulletin 13/04: 21 December 2004

FIRST FOR EXCELLENCE FOR EMPOWER!

AFAQ-ETA is very pleased to congratulate Empower’s success in becoming the UK’s first Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) for training in electrical power.

As a result, the company will be awarded Government funding for developing new courses to meet skills shortages in the electricity industry.

The process for becoming a CoVE is managed by the local Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs). It involved Empower submitting a proposal detailing current facilities and programmes and setting out a development plan for the next 12 months. This has now led to development CoVE status and, on completion of the actions set out in the plan, full CoVE status will be granted. The LSCs are currently establishing a national network of CoVE’s geared to the particular needs of different industry sectors.

Elaine Clark, Managing Director of Empower, said: “This is brilliant news for us and our customers. As the only CoVE in the UK for the electrical power sector we have tremendous responsibility to work with existing and prospective customers to ensure that training programmes are developed to address skills issues.”

The government expects CoVEs to take a lead in working with all the stakeholders on the skills agenda and nowhere is this more important than in the power sector.

For more information on Empower Training go to www.empower-training.com

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND DIVERSITY REPORT

A Eurelectric report on Equal Opportunities and Diversity has made a series of sweeping recommendations for the attention of power companies in Europe and trade unions. A few of the areas for improvement or attention follow:-

	The social partners should seek a commitment from electricity companies that recruitment strategies should have targets relating to the proportion of women that should comprise the workforce.
	The social partners should encourage companies to introduce formal recruitment and promotion practices that do not inadvertently result in unequal treatment between different categories of workers.
	The social partners should consider ways of encouraging the development of equal value tool kits to address questions relating to equal opportunities and diversity management.
	The social partners should encourage companies to consider ways of bringing the detail of equality policies to the attention of employees in more comprehensive ways than exist at present.

NEWS FROM US!

Auditor Course Updates

Over the next few months we will be modernising and improving both our IEMA ISO 14001, and our IRCA ISO 9000:2000 Lead Auditor/Auditor courses. New versions will be issued to licensees as soon as they have been approved by the accreditation bodies.

Click here to view the updated brochure and timetable of all Business Excellence courses for 2005.

January Sales!

We are pleased to offer a 5% discount on all open learning courses until the end of January, on mention of ‘January Sales’. Call Tyla on +44 (0)20 7922 1630 or e-mail tyla.davis@afaq-eta.com

Finally, we wish readers Season’s Greetings and a prosperous New Year!